2500 VS 3500: Here's How Fifth Wheel Pin Weight Effects Your Payload for 3/4 And 1 Ton Trucks!

[@t.l.robinson2162]

Absolutely need a 3500. I very often haul heavy.

[@anthonyjc121584]

O man i gotten my 3500 dually gmc ultimate denali what a beast she is first truck ever and what a truck she is

[@vancekeith5642]

Lets not forget that you can purchase the 2500HD with the heavy duty tow package which basically makes it a 1 Ton and the package itself is less than the cost of the 1 ton. Several videos on KZbin about this. Thanks for the video

[@JetTech1966]

Excellent video. Thank you very much! It's time we start looking for a diesel 3500 because the camper we are going to buy is 15k fully loaded. I love my 22 2500 gasser, best vehicle I've ever owned in my life, it pains me to even think about letting it go, but I don't think it will do that much weight very well....again thank you!!

[@BigfootDadExploresMontana]

Glad to see this information continued to be reinforced. Been living full-time for a while now and traveling the U.S. back and forth over the years and the number one thing I see most often is overloaded 1/2 tons and the second is overloaded 3/4 tons. I can't tell you how many 3/4 tons are going in and out of these campgrounds with humongous 14K-16K and beyond 5th wheels. In California a few months back we even saw a 3/4 ton hauling a triple axle toy hauler. 🤦 This is the soul reason we went with a travel trailer as we couldn't find a small enough 5th wheel that would safely fit our 3/4 ton. Thank you for spreading the news and safety message.

[@jamesg6951]

The gmc 3500 srw and 2500 max tow are the exact same truck. The only difference is they put a lower GWVR on the 2500 max tow for registration purposes in some areas. GMC themselves said this. Also most modern 3/4 ton trucks have 5th wheel towing capacities over 20k and payload ratings higher than last gen 1 tons

[@brianklump]

Just wish GM would let you derate the 3500 to 12k so I wouldn't have to derate 14k trailers. That's why the 2500 w/max tow is so appealing, 11750 GVWR and 1 ton underpinnings for the win. Well at least for those of us who aren't going to run CDL-requiring loads. Which, lets be honest, it's not really about road safety when you can buy a dually 1 ton and tow a 16k 5th wheel without a CDL just because the RV industry has its pull. Either the weight is a problem or it isn't. I think it should be increased, 26k on an old square body is a lot different than on these modern HD trucks. The brake rotors alone on these trucks are almost as big as the rims on the old rigs, lol!

[@gwendolynbrown9386]

Excellent demonstration !

[@joshprinz4495]

Great video! Would love to see a 2500 vs 3500 ride comparison video.

[@Uwekerner04]

Same

[@benbyerly1996]

We will be filming those videos soon.

[@billetbmx]

Great video never would have thought the 2500 AT4x would weigh more than the 3500. The AT4 has custom heavy duty thick steel bumpers that weight probably 300lbs each. The rear axle is identical on both trucks unless you have a Dually. AT4X suspension is setup for more flex for off road and they have special electronic shocks. Normal standard 2500 trucks don’t have over load springs compared to the 3500. The extra towing capacity comes from the rear leaf setup frames are identical. You can always add air bags to increase spring load capacity in rear.

[@scottfatta8133]

Nice comparison. I would love to see this comparison with the 2500 max tow package. I would imagine the difference would be minimal.

[@fcodxdart1083]

There is no reason to test this as the difference would be nothing. They are effectively identical vehicles other than the number at this point.

[@jamesg6951]

Same truck with a different sticker for registration purposes. GM themselves said this.

[@SurelyYewJest]

Ya, I'm very happy we went 1-ton SRW 4 years ago when we bought our 5W. 3/4-tons are great for TTs, but a mid-grade 1-ton SRW is a must for 5Ws. Sadly, I see way too many guys out there towing 5Ws with 3/4-tons, and sometimes it's even a fully loaded $100k 3/4-ton at that. 🙄 Great work on showing all the data because head math even with a scale can be fuzzy.

[@guylecourt50]

very good review. saw some TH 45 foot with dually 3500 over weight on payload.

[@gardnetbush9768]

How you know that just by seeing it ? I mean, do you ask what configuration that truck had

[@BrianVicente-r4w]

Great information in your video, as always. You are very good at teaching people the important considerations when towing.

[@DavidBrown-jt7yi]

Get the max tow 3/4 if you don't want the one ton.

[@SeanBaxley-wm7lc]

One thing that you may want to consider that varies from state to state is when determining whether you want/need a 3500 you need to account for total weight rating. If both trailer and truck are rated a total max over 26,000 pounds in my state you need a different license than a normal class c. It doesn’t matter if it’s commercial or not. It’s the total weight rating of truck and trailer combined. In my case it’s 34,000 pounds. So I have to upgrade my license to a non commercial class A. And in addition you actually have your take the truck and trailer and pass a skills test to prove you can drive it.

[@johnm7340]

Great review - good information - when towing excess capacity is always nice to have. Toyboxes tend to have higher pin weights, so even more payload capacity is required. Even moving the load/toy all the way back in the trailer only yields a few hundred pounds of pin weight relief. Even with a 3,500 when you get north of 3,000 lbs. of pin weight, you start to bump up against the rear axle rating as well. Important to know your numbers. I agree the CAT app is awesome - and it has a history, so you can see all your past weights with the same trailer/truck.

[@BillUtah]

My 2023 RAM 3500 diesel has a payload of almost 4200. Put in a 200 pound hitch, 50 pounds of running boards, 70 pounds of tonneau cover and a generator with fuel and you use up a lot of payload. I'm extremely happy that I got a Ton truck. The 3/4 would not have done the job with our 31 foot 5th wheel.

[@nutzthomas]

Also in my state tabs were 1600.00 a year for 2500 and 364.00 a year for 3500. That's what made me get the 3500

[@nutzthomas]

@ed3402 my bad lol

[@slaytanic921]

Your plates cost that much???

[@nutzthomas]

@@slaytanic921 they go down every year but yes, 2500 would have been 1600.00 my wife's were 2k on her car

[@nutzthomas]

@@slaytanic921 yes! if i got a 2500. thankfully i got the 2500, so they are way less.

[@kevincameron8437]

Great content an unless you have a travel trailer, or a smaller weight/length 5th wheel, the 1 ton is the way to go.

[@epickleuva]

For most manufacturers, going to a 1 ton SRW means little to nothing. Ram is the most heavily affected. The reason that 2500s are lower comparatively is because they are Derated to meet DOT requirements.

[@KelvinAung95]

If the frame doesn’t bend I’d say you are good to tow.

[@roor512]

Of course you need the 1 ton better payload and not that much more in cost

[@dougdoris8622]

Interesting video. I had a dually to tow my heavy Solitude. I have seen so many guys towing a heavy trailer with a 2500 and I’m always curious how much risk they are taking. They seem to always be ok and make fun of needing a dually.

[@slaytanic921]

What’s your pin weight? What would you consider heavy? Just curious.

[@ethelz2cents]

Wait. You didn't know about the Cat app?!?! Bruh. You teach me! I guess there's always something more to learn.

[@matthewanderson9912]

This is a good video with great information. Your 2500 numbers are a little skewed though because your truck is heavier than a non AT4X by a decent amount. So a regular 2500 would have around 300-400 more pounds of capacity at least. Ultimately with these 2020+ GMs as long as the 5th wheel you want to tow is not crazy big they can handle it. And there’s also not much of an advantage in strictly towing performance with going to a SRW 3500 either. You get the overloads but until you get on them they are not doing anything for you. There’s no real reason not to get a 3500 but ultimately it’s still just a pickup and if your trailer is real heavy you’re going to need a dually anyways. Just my two cents though.

[@AndrewCorcoran-o5q]

Yes. My 2500 has over 500lbs more payload then his

[@jstruiksma5012]

Question for the comments section: My 3/4 ton has 2000lbs of payload and airbags in the rear. Roughly 700 lbs in the cab. Looking at a bunkhouse 30ft 5th wheel with roughly 1400 lbs of hitch. If I move most of my weight to the rear, should I be okay to haul? 5th wheel is midbunk configuration with no bed slide and two slides at or behind the axles.

[@jimcurry5458]

I'm assuming the 2500 is a diesel? Have a 2024 Silverado 2500HD gasser and getting ready to trade up from travel trailer to a mid profile fifth wheel. My payload is 3536 pounds or 682 more than the 2500 in the example. I weigh 175 and the wife 105. Our 2 little dogs combined weigh 40 lbs. There's 100 pounds under the backseat in my DUHA under seat storage bin and the hitch will weight about 150 pounds. Planning on a total "truck cargo weight" of 700 pounds. This would leave me 2800 pounds of "loaded" pin weight for the trailer. To me, the hard part is guessing how much the 1800 pounds of gear I want to load into trailer will add to the "dry" pin weight. I realize this may fluctuate depending on how/where I load the gear into the trailer in relation to the axles. Seeing that I've never had a fifth wheel, does anyone have any guidance?

[@seattlecsifan]

Did I miss the squat difference on the two trucks?

[@AllAmericanAutomotive]

2500 gas is fine for most...2500 diesels with the loss of payload due to engine weight combined with greater towing capacity you really can run into issues quickly.

[@ssmith6999]

Gotta fix that autozoom. :)

[@robertwelch5584]

Interesting video with good information but ruined with the poor camera focus issues.

[@tkendr01]

I don't tow heavy at all. RAM 2500 Hemi has enough payload for my needs.

[@jamesjohns4464]

My 3500 gas weighs 8,080 pounds with me in it. Your diesel 2500 weighs a bunch more. Lucky that GM bumps up the GVWR on the diesels over the gas. Mine is 11,500. I believe yours was 12,100 or something close. A friend of mine has an older Ram 3500 dually with the 6.7L and his door sticker says 2,500 payload. That seemed hard to believe.

[@slaytanic921]

The only reason I have a 2500 is because that is what was available when I capitalized on the chip shortage. I would also have a long bed. But I do love my 2022 Silverado gasser.

[@campnut6076]

Good comparison JB. Did you purposely forget the J standard sticker on the door post? My 3500 J standard sticker only gives me 2620 on the goose ball pin weight, even though i still have plenty payload capacity left. Please explain why GM does this. Do any other truck manufactures limit your pin weight so drastically? It is a struggle to keep my pin weight under that number.

[@Billybob50119]

Yes, the pin weight is only one factor for payload. You need to add in the weight of people, hitch, any other gear or accessories in the truck and that gets you your total payload which needs to be below the payload rating

[@AndrewCorcoran-o5q]

Pin weight is just a percentage of what the truck is rated to tow

[@campnut6076]

@@AndrewCorcoran-o5q Yes it is. The issue I have found is the truck J standard only allows 12 -15% pin weight on the truck, but the RV manufacturers, at least with fifth wheels, are 20 - 23% pin weight.

[@AndrewCorcoran-o5q]

@@campnut6076 does your 3500 have the factory puck system?

[@AndrewCorcoran-o5q]

@@campnut6076 because my 2500 is rated for over 2700lbs pin weight

[@bobbyraduenz5706]

Cheaper tabs so get the 3500

[@cstgx]

1 ton gives you a lot more capability for not much more money. My 23 F350 gas has 4460 payload.

[@nathanbaylot2754]

Payload is largely a useless number. It’s based on class for DOT purposes.

[@AndrewCorcoran-o5q]

Your comparison isn't very accurate. My 2024 2500 has almost 3400lbs of payload. Yours is lower due to it being an at4x. Also his 1 ton payload numbers seem low.

[@mikemiller9119]

11k pounds is a heavy trailer? 😂😂